2014 IEEE International Conference on Smart Grid Communications
Using IEDScout Software for Managing
Multivendor IEC61850 IEDs in Substation
Automation Systems
1
Abdulrahman Hadbah, 2Taha Selim Ustun and 1Akhtar Kalam
1
College of Engineering & Science, Victoria University
P.O.Box 14428 Victoria 8001, Australia
2
School of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Carnegie-Mellon University, PA, USA
E-mail: abdulrahman.hadbah@vu.edu.au
Abstract—Digital Technology has significantly contributed to the
advancement of Protection and Automation gear; recent years
have witnessed a great development of Intelligent Electronic
Devices (IEDs) which can be described as multipurpose and
multifunctional relays. These devices are fitted with various
communication interfaces such as serial and Ethernet. Proprietary
protocols for the communication of IEDs are no longer sufficient.
Hence, protocols such as IEC1850, which utilize Ethernet
networks, were developed to harness the full potential of IED-to-
IED communication, as well as to standardise all aspects of
Control and Automation communication functions. However,
connecting several IEDs from different vendors via IEC 61850
standard and configuring them is not a trivial task. Various
parameters should be known and inputted to communication
software. This paper illustrates how IEC61850 based Protection
IEDs are deployed, configured and managed over Omicron’s
IEDScout software. Victoria University’s portable IEC 61850 test
rack which is composed of several IEDs has been utilized in this
research work. It provides valuable hands-on experiences to
researchers and professionals who would like to keep abreast with
IEC61850 standard and the equipment which is compatible with it.
There many vendors with many Software packages to interact with
relays and carry out the necessary configuration. Future work will
discuss other substation automation packages and procedures.
Index Terms – Configured IED Description (CID), Generic
Object Oriented Substation Event (GOOSE), IEC61850, IED
Capability Description (ICD), Intelligent Electronic Device
(IED), Interoperability, Portable IEC61850 Testing Unit,
Substation Automation (SA), Substation Configuration
Language (SCL).
1. INTRODUCTION
The microgrids have a very dynamic behavior. At any
given time, a Distributed Generator (DG) or load connection
and disconnection might take place in the microgrid.
Whenever such a change occurs the power generation, load
sharing, control and protection strategies assigned prior to that
become erroneous. For a proper operation, there should be
communication network established between microgrid
components. [1]
There is a growing interest in extensive communication for
network management, control and protection purposes.
However, there is no consensus in the literature about which
communication protocol should be used in these systems. It
goes without saying that microgrids will become more
complex with the introduction of communication devices and
systems. For this reason, worldwide collaboration is required
in identifying a universal or standardized communication
protocol that shall be used in microgrids for DGs, storage and
protection devices to tackle the arising problems. In this
978-1-4799-4934-2/14/$31.00 ©2014 IEEE
respect, International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)
IEC61850 released in 2003 for the first time a communication
standard for a substation automation system, and in the same
token, it has been used for other purposes [2]. With a vision of
controlling DGs IEC61850 has been extended beyond the
normal 10 year-period. The first release, IEC 61400-25 was
about the communication in wind power. Two more
extensions IEC61850-7-410 [3] on hydroelectric power plants
and IEC61850-7-420 [4, 5] on Distributed Energy Resources
(DERs) logical nodes have also been published.
Today, Substation Automation far more cost effective
thanks to Ethernet and fibre optic that were made available in
new communication standards such as IEC 61850. However,
industry experts agree that skilling their workforce to master
these novel standards will definitely drive operational cost up.
Therefore, educational institutions are seriously looking into
providing early career training to graduate engineers
equipped with a reasonable set of skills to be job ready.
Hence, The Smart Energy Research Unit at Victoria
University (VU) has developed an experimental platform in
the form of a portable IEC61850 testing and training unit to
provide university students and industry professionals with a
research and development platform.
This paper provides hands-on techniques for connecting
and interacting with the protective relays housed in this
portable substation. It also demonstrates how to successfully
manage and configure a substation composed of IEDs
manufactured by different vendors. The work presented here
focuses on the usage of Omicron’s IEDScout and ABB local
HMI interface futurework shall elaborate on other vendors
and software packages.
2. IEC 61850 BACKGROUND
IEC61850 was instigated by the Electric Power Research
Institute’s UCA 2.0 (EPRI’s). It is a part of a joint effort of
the International Electrotechnical Commission's (IEC)
Technical Committee 57 (TC57) and its Working Group 10
(WG10). Industry expert predict this standard will have a
chief role and a huge foot print on power systems design.
Therefore, one can not talk about IEC61850 based IEDs and
Substations without a brief introduction of the standard itself
[6-8].
This standard is subdivided into 10 main parts, as listed in
Table I. It was outlined by experts from all over the world
and intended for generic use in the substation automation
industry. Thus, it is aimed at providing a comprehensive
object-oriented data model on an abstract level, in addition to,
67
 2014 IEEE International Conference on Smart Grid Communications

Ethernet technology protocols and a development guide for received from PTOC. It is worthy to note here that in
application programming interfaces (APIs). modeling the IED, instead of logical node PIOC, which
Currently, the abstract data model can be mapped to a detected instantaneous over-current or rate-of-rise, PTOC
range of protocols such as, Manufacturing Messages which has the capability to detect fault currents according to
Specification (MMS), Generic Object-Oriented Substation their directions, is utilized.[4]
Event (GOOSE) message and Sampled Value Messages
(SVM) [9] .
TABLE I
THE IEC 6180 PARTS [10]
Part Title
1 Introduction and Overview
2 Glossary
3 General Requirements
4 System and Project Management
5 Communication Requirements for Function & Device Fig. 2. IED model with Communication Module
Models
IEC61850 is a standard that can be mapped to various
6 Configuration Description Language for Communication protocols. Currently it has been mapped to MMS, GOOSE
in Electronic Substations Related to IEDs
and SVM, and in the near future will be mapped to Web
7 Basic Communication Structure for Substation and Services. These protocols are mapped as a set of
Feeder Equipment
interconnected logical nodes. In turn, logical nodes comprise
8 Specific Communication Service Mapping (to MMS and of numerous data objects, each of which consists of many
to Ethernet)
basic and composite data attributes. Simultaneously, IEC
9 Specific Communication Service Mapping (from 61850 standard uses the concept of data sets to represent a
Sampled Values)
collection of data attributes. A data set can host a mixture of
10 Conformance Testing data objects and attributes whereas data objects can only hold
attributes as members of its class [11] .
3. IEC 61850 DATA MODEL IEC 61850 contains device models that describe the
In IEC 61850 standard, the data is defined in an object properties and allocation of functions in a physical device. It
oriented hierarchical structure. It utilises object oriented (OO) provides OO data models, that define generic services for the
concepts as illustrated in Figure 1. The server is the core client/server messages exchange between devices in a
element of this model, one IED encapsulates one or more substation and for the transfer of all sorts of data while
instances of a server; each server comprises of several logical adhering to strict transmission constraints like speed
devices which in turn carry out several functions denoted in reliability and security [7, 12]
this model as logical nodes, for example a circuit breaker (CB) The IEC 61850 standard allows two modes of data
and its control processes from implementation point of view exchange, the first one - which is common between all
are conceptually described and defined in the XCBR communications protocols – is controller to IED and the
class[11] . second mode is IED-to-IED [13].
Finally, one can see that IEC 61850 is a distinctive
standard; built from scratch to run over up to date
networking technologies to deliver an unparalleled array of
functionality that was not available from legacy protocols and
ad-hoc serial link protocols that were retrofitted with TCP/IP
stack [14].

4. IEC 61850 TESTING UNIT

Fig. 1 Conceptual Diagram of IEC 61850 Data Model
As an example, modeling of a IED-Circuit Breaker module
is givein in Figure 2. Here, IHMI-ITCI Logical Nodes (LNs)
are used to implement Human-machine interface . PTOC
models current measurement devices which detects AC over-
current flow in a predetermined direction. Therefore, the
detection threshold is stored in PTOC. CSWI is the control
unit for the swithc. It is used to send a trigger signal to the
XCBR, circuit breaker, in case an over-current signal is
Modern Substations are managed by automation systems
which are based on communication protocol standards. In this
paper the authors will be addressing IEC 61850 standard.
These automation systems take advantage of traditional IT
Network Architecture based on Ethernet as depicted in Figure
2. Power Utility functions and alarms are controlled from a
control centre via a computer terminal with minimal
deployment of field engineers on the substation bay [14, 15].
From Figure 3, it can be seen how gigabit switches over IEEE
802.3 LAN are used to ensure sufficient bandwidth for
performance critical functions (e.g. Protection signalling)
which usually require real-time invocation of I/O devices
such as circuit breakers (CB) and other protection devices via
GOOSE messages [16].
This form of network integration architecture will enable
modern utilities to harness the capabilities of their powerful
IEDs and their distributed functions such as metering,
protection and control operations. Figure 4 displays a front

68
 2014 IEEE International Conference on Smart Grid Communications

view of the IEC61850 Portable Testing Unit at VU, whilst

Figure 5 depicts the substation network layout of the unit,
which is the main platform for this work.

Fig. 5 IEC 61850 Portable Substation Architecture

Fig. 3 IEC 61850 based Substation Architecture [17].

5. CONFIGURATION OF IEDS IN AN IEC-61850 BASED SUB-
STATION
Implementation of IEC 61850 Communication Standard is
aimed at achieving a common platform for all IEDs to
communicate with each other and the central management
unit, if any. In order to achieve this, IEDs shall be connected
over an Ethernet network, as shown in Figure 5, and Station
PC shall be able access and configure them. It is important to
do this seamlessly, so that the network can be monitored,
messages can be followed and necessary changes can be done
in the system.
In this section, step by step instructions will be provided
to assist in configuring and controlling each of the IEDs
mentioned in Table II. The main tool used is Omicron
IEDScout. This software is able to handle various IEDs from
different vendors such as ABB, SEL, Areva and, naturally,
Omicron.
A. ABB - REF615- Substation Feeder Relay
This relay is equipped with both, local and remote (via
web front end, see figure 6) access at Bay Level. It is a dual
home device configured with two different IP Addresses:
• Front Panel IP: 192.168.0.254
• Back Panel IP: 192.168.2.10

Fig. 4 Photo of Victoria University portable IEC 61850 test rack

The unit consists of various protection IEDs, a timing

clock and networking equipment, as outlined in Table II.

TABLE II
IEC61850 PORTABLE TESTING UNIT
Device Description
SEL-487E Transformer Current Differential and
Voltage Protection
SEL-311L Line Current Differential Protection
SEL-27250 unmanaged five-port switch and copper-to-
fibre-optic media converter
SEL-2407 Satellite-synchronized clock
ABB-REF615 Substation Feeders relay
Areva-P145 Feeder Management Relay
CMC356 Omicron Test for testing Protection Relays
and other devices in electrical power systems
RSG2100 19-Port Managed Ethernet Switch with
Gigabit Uplinks, 128-bit encryption Fig. 6 REF615 Web HMI

69
 2014 IEEE International Conference on Smart Grid Communications

The front panel IP is pre-configured by the manafacturer be restarted to obtain a refreshed list of all discovered IEDs
for stand alone access, while the back panel IP is the main IP as in Figure 8b.
assigned by the substation network/LAN administrator,
connected to the RSG2100 switch.
The User Interface shown in Figure 6 can be utilized to
access REF615 relay, check its alarm status, update its
parameters and settings. This is a very user-friendly way of
managing an IED. Fig. 8a Discovering Substation IEDs with IEDScout

B. Areva P145, SEL-311L and SEL-487E

Unlike the previous IED, these devices do not provide web-
based HMI interface access, the only way to configure or to
interact with these IEDs is via vendor based configuration
software client, or maybe a generic SCL configuration
software (e.g. OpenScl). As expected, this requires in-depth
knowledge of SCL files and their use. For wide-acceptance of
IEDs in power networks in the future, vendors should equip
their devices with an HMI as aforementioned in Section A.

5..1 IEDs Discovery using IEDScout Fig. 8b Discovering Substation IEDs with IEDScout

IEDScout is a universal client to IEC 61850 substation

IEDs. It is used as a publisher/subscriber for GOOSE
messages. This software provides several substation functions,
from reading/writing of data attributes to using the self-
description feature of an IED and producing SCL files. It
detects GOOSE messages and Client/Server communication
for display, analysis, and recording [18].
The detection of IEDs requires prior knowledge of
Ethernet network set up between the IEDs. Figure 7 shows
the dialogue required to add an IED into IEDScout software.
It is important to know individual IP addresses of each IED.
Since each IED publishes its own messages in the network,
they are defined as `servers`.
Discovered IEDs are successfully connected which clearly
are marked with green icons, Figure 8b. For the case
aforementioned, all four relays, i.e. SEL487E, Sel311L,
MicomP145 and ABBREF615, have been defined and
discovered by IEDScout. However, SEL487E is not
connected, hence the grey icon beside it, while the
connections of other three are shown with green icons. When
all devices have been added, the SCL file can be saved to the
local host and later on can be opened via the “Open SCL”
menu, hence right clicking on each IED will give one the
option to connect/disconnect to this particular device (Figure
9).

Fig. 7 Discovering Substation IEDs with IEDScout

As shown in Figure 7, SEL487E relay is defined in

IEDScout with its IP address; 192.168.2.20. All the other
relays given in Table II are defined in the same fashion.
After the definition process is finished, all servers should
be discovered by IEDScout. One drawback is that IEDScout
can only add/discover one IED at a time, as clearly shown in
Figure 8a. Each server/IED shall be selected individually and
`connect` button should be clicked to establish a connection.
Once, the discovery process is completed, IEDScout should
Fig. 9 Saving SCL file via the “Open SCL” menu
Once connected to the device (e.g. SEL311L) it can be
seen that the different attributes, such as; Logical Devices
(LD), Logical Nodes (LN), GOOSE information, reports and
data sets. The data tree in the right pane shows the different
types of objects with different icons [IEDScout User Manual]:

70
 2014 IEEE International Conference on Smart Grid Communications

• – The server (IED), the root of the data tree

• – Logical Device
• – Logical Node
• – Functional Constraint
• – Data Object
• – Data Attributes, the leafs of the tree

At this stage, network operators can use `Station PC runnig

IEDScout software` to follow up IEC 61850-modeling of
each IED, follow their values and configure them as they see
fit. This enables full utilization of IEC 61850-based
substation with multi-vendor IEDs.

6. GOOSE MESSAGES CAPTURE

Following the discovery, configuration and connection
procedures mentioned in Section 5, it is possible to monitor
the messages that are sent from IEDs. In IEC 61850 based
networks GOOSE message is used to exchange information
between protective IEDs. GOOSE sniffer applet of IEDscout
software can be used to detect all GOOSE messages
broadcasted in the LAN. Running this applet will list the
existing GOOSE messages in the network, as shown in Fig. 11 Recording GOOSE messages with GOOSE Recorder
Figure 10. Crucial parameters such as GooseIDs, MAC Thus, GOOSE messages that are captured either manually or
addresses of the publishing servers, Application IDs as well by means of automatic triggers; can be processed in
as Data sets can be extracted from this list. Furthermore, the TransView applet, shown in Figure 11 of IEDScout software.
dialog box which opens after a right-click enables
subscription to a preferred GOOSE message.

Fig. 12 TransView Time Signal Pane

Fig, 10 Subscribing to GOOSE messages with GOOSE Sniffer
Once subscribed to a GOOSE, it is possible to track all of
its relevant details such as:
- GoID
- AppID
- DatSet
- SqNum
It is also possible to follow network related info such as:
- SrcMac
- DstMac
- VlanTag, etc.
If it is desired to capture GOOSE messages at particular
times or after particular events, automated monitoring can be
achieved via GOOSE Recording window shown in Figure 11.
Here, `name template` denotes the name of the Goose
recording file. DATA tab allows users to select which data
attributes (DA) they would like to be recorded.
RECORDING WITH TRIGGER tab allows users to set-up
the recording conditions, and recording times.
The recorded data are imported into COMTRADE files
which can be analysed in several viewer applications.
OMICRON TransView can be used in conjunction to
EnerLyzer as part of the Omicron’s test universe software
package. It is possible to follow timing, synchronization,
propagation delay in the communication network. It is also
possible to monitor whether IEDs are responding to changing
network conditions by sending desired GOOSE messages in
an acceptable amount of time.
7. CONCLUSIONS
This paper provides a practical example in Victoria
University’s portable IEC 61850 test rack and gives
beneficial insights that will assist researchers with detailed
steps on how to set up an IEC61850-based substation
network with different IEDs. It focuses on Omicron’s
IEDScout software which can be used in StationPC. All
required steps that shall be undertaken to configure and
operate the sub-station are elaborated upon. The ability to
monitor GOOSE messages, follow data sent in these

71
 2014 IEEE International Conference on Smart Grid Communications

messages and processing them in applications such as [17] M. A. D. Baigent, R. Mackiewicz, "IEC 61850 Communication
Networks and Systems In Substations:An Overview for Users," Nov
TransView and EnerLyzer are clearly explained. The work
2004.
presented in this paper is a subset of a larger IEC61850
implementation project. [18] Omricon. (2011). Manual Version: IEDScout.AE.7 - © OMICRON
electronics. All rights reserved. Available:
Moreover, this work has provided a practical https://www.omicron.at/en/products/pro/communication-
demonstration of how an IEC 61850 client can extract an protocols/iedscout/download-iedscout/
IED’s configuration –SCL File- from an IED over LAN
connection or direct connection via a local HMI. Then, these
files might be used for testing purposes (e.g. import IED
settings to Omicron quickCMC) for commission testing or for
the development of IEC 61850 client applications by software
engineers.

REFERENCES
[1] T. S. Ustun, et al., "Recent developments in microgrids and example
cases around the world--A review," Renewable and Sustainable
Energy Reviews, vol. 15, pp. 4030-4041, 2011.
[2] IEC TC-57, "IEC 61851-1: Electric vehicle conductive charging
system – Part 1: General requirements. International Electrotechnical
Commission, Geneva, Switzerland, IEC 2010".
[3] IEC TC-57, "IEC 61850-7-410: Communication networks and
systems for power utility automation - Part 7-410: Basic
communication structure - Hydroelectric power plants -
Communication for monitoring and control, Edition 2, 2012".
[4] T. S. Ustun, et al., "Modeling of a Centralized Microgrid Protection
System and Distributed Energy Resources According to IEC 61850-7-
420," Power Systems, IEEE Transactions on, vol. PP, pp. 1-8, 2012.
[5] T. S. Ustun, et al., "Distributed Energy Resources (DER) Object
Modeling with IEC 61850-7-420," in Power Engineering Conference,
2011. AUPEC '11. Australasian Universities, 2011.
[6] Y. C. Liang, Roy H. . (2008, 8-60-2013). Understanding and
Simulating the IEC 61850 Standard. Available:
https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/handle/2142/11457
[7] C. R. Ozansoy, et al., "Object Modeling of Data and DataSets in the
International Standard IEC 61850," Power Delivery, IEEE
Transactions on, vol. 24, pp. 1140-1147, 2009.
[8] T. S. Ustun, et al., "Distributed Energy Resources (DER) object
modeling with IEC 61850–7–420," in Universities
Power Engineering Conference (AUPEC), 2011 21st Australasian,
2011, pp. 1-6.
[9] Ralph Mackiewicz, "Technical Overview and Benefits of the IEC
61850 Standard for Substation Automation."
[10] IEC, International Electrotechnical Commission Standard - IEC
61850, 2005.
[11] IEC TC-57, "Communication networks and systems in substations –
Part 7-4: Basic communication structure for substation and feeder
equipment – Compatible Logical Node Classes and Data Classes.
International Electrotechnical Commission, Geneva, Switzerland,
Draft Standard 61850-7-4, IEC 2001."
[12] T. S. Ustun, et al., "Implementing Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) Technology
With IEC 61850-7-420," Smart Grid, IEEE Transactions on, vol. 4, pp.
1180-1187, 2013.
[13] L. Andersson, et al., "Substation automation based on IEC 61850 with
new process-close technologies," in Power Tech Conference
Proceedings, 2003 IEEE Bologna, 2003, p. 6 pp. Vol.2.
[14] A. T. O. Maung, A. Kalam, A. Zayegh, "Intelligent control, Monitor
and Protection of Power Systems," presented at the SEAPAC 2007,
Sydney, 2007.
[15] Rajesh Kukreja, "Utilizing IEC 61850, Ethernet and IP Standards for
Integrated Substation Communications," presented at the Information
Technology in Power Sector, New Delhi, India, 2008.
[16] R. Mackiewicz, "Technical Overview and Benefits of the IEC 61850
Standard for Substation Automation," presented at the Transmission
and Distribution Conference and Exhibition, IEEE PES, Dallas, TX,
USA, 2006.

72